Chapter 39

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Word count 7459 words

(Y/n) POV

I felt movement beside me as I tried to sleep. Last night was probably one of the hardest I've ever had to endure... well one of them at least.

I was expecting them to freak out, but they didn't. They just listened to me as Zuko and I explained my possession. I expected Aang not to be crazy about it, since he is the bridge between worlds. But everyone else didn't freak out, almost like they knew about it in advance.

I sighed looking up at the stone ceiling, did I really make the right choice coming back?

Aang forgave me and I'm starting to actually talk to the group again, but... it's not the same. Nothings the same.

"You alright?" I snapped back into reality as Zuko sat up.

I turned my head to face him, "Yeah..."

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"No, you?"

"No" he exhaled as he ran his hand through his hair.

We both sat there on our bed for an awkward amount of time before I broke the silence, "It's a full moon..." I trailed off.

He stood up, "I'll get the snacks"

I grinned getting to my feet, "I'll get our shoes"

————

We spun around in the moonlight, "When was the last time we danced like this?" Zuko smiled.

"Yesterday? When we practiced the dancing dragon?" I laughed as he picked me up.

"No," he put me down but kept his hands on my waist. "I mean... real dancing"

I scrunched my face trying to think about it, "Huh... before the eclipse I believe"

We shuffled as I saw the moonlight bounce off of his dazzling pale skin.

"I missed this" he smiled.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "So did I"

We leaned closer towards each other but before we could connect a loud scream rattled through the (what we thought was private) area.

"Would you both just SHUT UP!" Toph screamed stomping over.

"Toph?" I raised my brow.

"Spirits! It's bad enough that your heart rate spike every time you are both in the same room, but deciding to dance at midnight is not okay!"

I bit my lip, "Sorry Toph..."

She crossed her arms, "I wasn't yelling at you Smarty-pants" she scoffed.

I looked to Zuko's who face was a dark shade of red, "Sorry?"

"You should be!" She yelled.

"D-do you want us to go?" I asked using my thumb to point into the direction of our room behind us.

"No! That's what I meant!" She crossed her arms, "(Y/n).... I need to talk to you. Alone" she growled.

"What?" I raised a brow, did I do something wrong?

I turned a Zuko and he nodded letting go of my waist I didn't even realize he was holding, "I'll go prepare breakfast before anyone throws a hissy fit"

"It's midnight" I crossed my arms.

"I know" he said before walking away.

"Uh okay," I bit my lip. "Is everything alright Toph?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes, "No. it's not"

"... Is there any way I can hel-"

"Seven days. You've been here for seven days, and we've only talked twice" she crinkled her nose.

"I... uh..." I couldn't find the words to say.

I haven't really talked to all of them since I've been back. Obviously I've been talking to the guys, but... She was right. I have kind of been ignoring the girls. I didn't fully mean to, well I did with Katara. But not Toph. In reality I just didn't know what to say to her. I didn't know how she felt about what happened, and I don't know who's side she was on.

I didn't even get a chance to find an excuse as she began to sniffle. I snapped out of my trance as tears began to welt down her cheeks, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you," she clenched her fists looking to the ground. "I'm sorry I didn't go with Aang to try and find you in the catacombs. Maybe if I went things would be different. Maybe if I went I could've stopped her from scarring you. Maybe if I was... maybe if I was stron..." I watched as she began to collapse.

I ran to her and was able to catch her, before we both slowly went to the floor, "No, no, no. Don't dis yourself," I pulled her closer to me as she continued to cry into my chest. "You are not to blame for what happened, do you understand me? You had nothing to do with it" I pulled her even closer.

She sniffled, "But it was part of my fault too! The letter from my mom was a trick! My father sent people to capture me and bring him back to him! If I realized the letter was a fake you wouldn't have been alone and none of it would've happened!" She balled into my chest.

"Or Azula would've captured you as well and we would still be in this situation, or worse. Toph you can't blame yourself for this" I calmly explained as I placed my hands on her face to wipe away her tears.

She continued to sniffle as her eyes then widened placing both her hands on mine, "No. I have no choice (Y/n)... you still got burned, you still got taken. You still got... hurt-"

"Toph..." I sighed, "Where are we right now?"

"The Western Air Temple" she shrugged.

"And who's here with you right now?"

"You"

I squeezed her tightly, "Exactly. I'm here now. That's all that matters," I began to tear up. "And this time I'm not leaving you. Any of you"

We both began to silently cry on the ground. She wrapped her arms around my waist and refused to let go. I know this would seem very out of character to someone, but I honestly was waiting for her to have a breakdown. Even the mightiest rocks breakdown eventually. Especially when those boulders are only twelve years old and are fighting in a war.

"Look at where we are versus where we started... and I'm not going to pretend to know these challenges we're facing," I sighed. "But you know what? I'm not afraid. I'm not," I shook my head. "Because I know I have the strongest family who will be at each other's side. And this family will be enough to end this war. Toph, I know you feel like you could've done something... but it wouldn't have changed anything. The Fire Lord would've captured me eventually and no matter how much I hate destiny... I was always going to get this scar. The odds weren't in our favour" I explained.

"But the experience awoke Sozin. The experience is why Sozin is slowly taking over your body. He's killing yo-"

"Shh," I shushed as I rubbed her back. "Toph... Sozin has been in my soul since I was little. He was always going to somehow awaken. It was just a coincidence, okay?"

She nodded as she was still buried in my chest, "Did you miss me at all? Did you even think about me?"

I gasped, "Of course I did! What kind of question is that?!" I made her look at me, "Toph. Even when everything happened I still cared about you. All of you! I thought Aang was dead. I thought you all hated me... and then when I saw your wanted poster," I bit my lip. "I thought I could save you"

She tilted her head, "What do you mean? Katara said you ran into her and shot lightning before fleeing. We thought you saw Katara and got scared"

I shook my head, "No. That's not what happened"

"What did happen?"

"When I was in town with Zuko, I saw your wanted poster. I spoke to some guards and they say the girl who looked like me already took you in. I thought I could rescue you... but when I saw Katara collecting the money.... I got scared. I thought she betrayed you... and when I went back to find you and set you free I was told you escaped. I thought you were hippo-lion food"

"It's better then what I thought," she whimpered. "I thought they were torturing you! I thought the Fire Lord was going to-" she cut herself off as she balled her eyes out even more.

"It's alright, let it out. Let it out," I held her somehow even tighter. "I'm here now. I'm here" my face soon became covered in salty liquid as we both let all of our pent-up emotions out.

"I missed you so much, Smarty-pants"

"I missed you too, pebble"

That was probably one of the hardest conversations I had. Looking back it truly showed the pain we were all facing. It's easy to paint on a brave face, but we all know that underneath a brave face the person he's just dying to come out.

"If you tell anybody about this, I won't hesitate to metalbend you into the ground" she mumbled.

I smirked, "It's a good thing, that's not a thing"

"... Well it is now" she let out a little smirk.

I looked down at her and raise my brow before being to chuckle, "So you're telling me, that you were able to invent a new bending style while I was in the Fire Nation?"

"Are you even surprised?"

I sighed, "No. I'm not... The Firebenders learn from dragons, Waterbenders learn from the moon, Earthbenders learn from the badger-moles, Airbenders learn from sky-bisons... and metal benders learn from an angry twelve year old... I'm so proud you!"

—————

That night after intense training session we all sat around the campfire that I had Aang create, as Zuko brewed tea for us.

I also decided to talk to some of the kids that joined my family after retreating from the Day of Black Sun. I faintly knew some of them from past adventures, but they didn't seem much of talkers.

"No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?" Zuko asked us.

"Yeah" I smiled.

"Sure" Katara shrugged.

"I like jokes" Aang told him.

Toph let out a smile, "Bring it!"

Zuko let out a breath as he began to hand out some tea, "Okay. Well, I can't remember how it starts, but the punch line is 'Leaf me alone, I'm bushed!'" He exclaimed as we all looked at him confused, "... Well, it's funnier when Uncle tells it" he mumbled as a blush invaded his face.

Katara smirked taking her tea, "Right... maybe that's because he remembers the whole thing" she said making everyone chuckle.

"Well maybe one day we can find out the set up to it," I smiled taking my drink. "Thank you"

Toph then took her cup and smiled, "It's nice to get a chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens"

"I know right. I think this is probably the calmest it's been since Ba Sing Se" I lightly punched her arm.

"Yeah... I wonder why" Toph glared forward, but we all know who she was trying to glare at.

Right as Zuko sat down next to me Sokka got to his feet and walked up to us, "Hey Zuko, can I talk to you for a second?"

We looked at each other before he got to his feet, and they walked out of ear shot.

"What do you think that was about?" Aang raised a brow.

"Probably giving Zuko the whole brotherly talk," Katara chuckled. "You know how he is"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Toph smirked. "Do you all remember the fight they had on the first day here? It was so funny" she laughed.

I bit my lip in embarrassment, "Yeah... that was an experience"

"Oh yeah... hey wait! (Y/n)?!" Aang looked to me.

"Yes Aang?!" I gasped copying his enthusiasm.

"How did Zuko propose?"

My eyes widened as Toph nodded, "Yeah! How did Prince flamely propose to you? He screamed about consent, so I'm curious" she wiggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah... how did he?" Katara asked looking down at her tea.

I smiled, "Do you guys really wanna know?"

"Yes! That's why we asked!" Aang continued to smile.

I chuckled, "Okay, it was honestly beautiful. After a while in the Fire Nation, Zuko lead me to the garden that he transformed into a winter wonderland, he prepared me a traditional Water Tribe feast... and then professed his love before proposing," I blushed like mad. "Then we dance"

"That sounds so romantic" Katara smiled.

"Yeah, just wait till the honeymoon" Toph winked.

"TOPH!" I yelled.

"What?!" She shrugged, "He's a prince! You gotta make heirs!"

"We're sixteen!" I told her.

"What's she talking about?" Aang asked Katara.

"It's nothing Aang, Toph's just talking about very adult topics" she explained.

"Well I'm sorry I'm being realistic! It's gonna happen eventually!" She exclaimed.

"What's gonna happen?" Zuko and Sokka asked as they came back into the room, "Why does Toph have her up to no good face on?" Sokka asked.

"It's nothing" Katara and I exclaimed.

"Yeah... nothing" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Okay!" I jumped to my feet, "On that note I'm going to bed, are you coming Zuko?"

"Yeah, I'll get the sleeping bag" he nodded taking my arm.

"Yeaaaah. Well now we know the lovers aren't going to get cold tonight" she smirked.

"TOPH!" I gasped.

"Excuse me?!" Zuko glared at her.

"What are you implying?" Sokka crossed his arms.

She sighed, "You all know"

Aang leaned over towards the other kids, "Do you know what they're talking about?" He whispered.

"Okay! On that note I think it's time for bed!" Katara clapped her hands together.

I shook my head before looking at Zuko, "So what did Sokka want to talk about?"

He bit his lip, "It's nothing"

"Are you sure? Did he give you the whole brotherly talk?" I snickered.

He sighed, "It's nothing (Y/n), don't worry about it"

————

"Don't worry about it my ass" I grumbled to myself as I saw both boys slowly leave the sleeping area.

I watched Zuko slowly climb up Appa, before Sokka ascended a moment after.

"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko asked making Sokka gasp falling backwards.

I watched Sokka grumbled picking up his bag off of the concrete, "Fine, you caught me. I'm gonna rescue my dad. You happy now?"

"I'm never happy" Zuko told him.

"... Wow. That's a great thing to say to your future brother-in-law"

"You know what I meant"

Sokka sighed, "Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea, it was my decision to stay when things were going wrong. I was so focused on saving (Y/n) that I chose to stay. It's my mistake, and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor. You can't stop me, Zuko"

I sighed knowing that Zuko would be going along with it now. Sokka said the ultimate word... honour.

"You need to regain your honor? Believe me, I get it. I'm going with you" Zuko told him.

See I was right.

Sokka shook his head, "No. I have to do this alone"

"How are you going to get there? On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison daycares," Zuko put his hand on his chin. "We'll take my war balloon"

That's it, I'm going! If I don't they'll die, I just know it.

I quickly got to my feet and made my way to the ballon. I had a quick head start so by the time they stepped inside they were both greeted by my figure cross legged on one of the chairs.

"It's nothing, huh?" I smirked making them both scream.

"(Y/n)?! What are you doing here?!" Zuko looked up at me as Sokka tried to push him off of him.

"Yeah! (Y/n), we're trying to do something here. It's guys stuff" Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Oh really," I got to my feet and walked over towards them before leaving over the edge of the deflated balloon. "And what might this 'guy stuff' intend?"

Both boys remained silent before Sokka's eyes lit up, "We're... we're going on Zuko's Bachelor party!" He exclaimed.

"Really?" I unassumingly asked.

"Yup! Just the two older buddy's going on a joy ride together!" Sokka put his arm around my fiancé, "Right Zuko?"

Zuko looked between us before nodding, "Uhhhhhh yeah! Who wouldn't want to go on an adventure with their new best friend, and Best Man?!" He smiled putting his arm around Sokka.

Then both boys began to laugh as I just shot them the same look of shame, "So the two boys who couldn't go five seconds without almost killing each other the other day, are now going on a bachelor party together... without Aang?"

"Well... he's to young! You get the idea" Sokka shrugged as Zuko nodded, "Yup"

"Really? Because I heard you both talking about going to rescue our Father... ring any bells my dear love and brother?" I asked as both boys became silent puppy-bears.

"W-wha-how-wh-" Zuko tried to get the words out before Sokka cut him off.

"(Y/n)... we have to do something"

"Yeah, saving father is something important" I glared at them.

Both boys looked at me as I began to walk back to my spot inside the balloon, "So are you guys coming or what?"

————

We all sat around the ballon as Zuko kept it afloat by constantly spewing fire inside the holster.

Sokka started at us before sighing, "Pretty clouds"

Zuko looked up, "Yeah... fluffy," he commented as Sokka began to whistle. "What?"

My brother shrugged, "What? Oh, I didn't say anything. You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons" he stated.

"Oh yeah..." I trailed off.

Zuko tilted his head, "No kidding"

"Yep, a balloon... but for war"

"If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war" Zuko grumbled.

"Ain't that the truth" I shivered before another pain went off in my head.

Sokka sighed, "Yeah, it seems to run in the family"

"Watch it Sokka. It's going to be your family too" I crossed my arms as the pain hit worse.

Zuko put his hand on my shoulder making the pain vanish as he looked to Sokka, "Hey, hold on. Not everyone in my family is like that"

Sokka put his hands up defensively, "I know, I know, you've changed. And no (Y/n). We are not family with them. I don't care that Zuko is your fiancé, I still don't trust him"

I glared harder at him, making the flames powering the ballon go up... making us rise a meter or two.

"It's okay (Y/n). I actually agree with him. I mean to him, I'm just a guy who tried to capture you for a year and then the next time he sees us we get engaged," he exclaimed. "I'm okay with slowly gaining his trust"

I nodded as he looked back to my brother, "And I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down"

Sokka shook his head, "I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard"

We looked to each other, "It wasn't that hard" we told him.

"Really? But with everything that happened-"

"All I need is right next to me," Zuko and I locked hands. "I told her she didn't have to come but-"

"I had to," I sighed. "And I'm glad I did. I... I missed you all so much"

"Well you two got lucky," Sokka leaned back and sighed again, "My first girlfriend turned into the moon"

Zuko's brain looked like it stopped working, "That's rough, buddy"

—————

You may be curious as to why I'm going with them, if I want to beat the demons inside of me, I need to confront the one outside of me as well.

As the balloon got closer to our destination I noticed we were quickly descending, "Uh... guys?"

"We're going down! The balloon's not working anymore!" Zuko gasped before the two of us began to blast fire into the port.

Sokka shook his head, "The air outside is just as hot as the air inside so we can't fly!"

"So what are we supposed to do?" Zuko yelled.

"I don't know! Crash-landing?"

"This is not how I planned on dying!" I yelled as the balloon skid along the boiling water.

I gasped for dear life as water came towards me, but Sokka jumped in front of it splashing his hand.

"Sokka!" I yelled as the balloon hits the base of the rock, ejecting us from it.

I got to my feet immediately and went to my brother, "Is it hurtareyouokay?!" I grabbed his hand.

He shook his head and pulled it away, "I'm okay (Y/n). Don't worry, it was just a small splash" he smiled.

"Oh thank the Spirits"

"How are we gonna get off the island if the balloon won't work?" Zuko crossed his arms.

Sokka rolled his eyes, "We'll figure something out! I suspected it might be a one-way ticket"

"Excuse me?" I glared at him, "A one-way ticket?"

Zuko's eye twitched, "You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyway?"

Sokka went to the destroyed balloon, "My dad might be here! I had to come and see!"

"And you thought being a prisoner on an island with the right call?! We could easily see him after the war!" I spat before and the payment off making me fall to my knees.

Zuko ran to my side as he glared at my brother, "Uncle always said I never thought things through. But this... this is just crazy!"

Sokka began to gather up the remains of the ballon, "Hey, I never wanted you to come along in the first place! And for the record, I always think things through! But my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time, I'm playing it by ear. So there" he sighed throwing free ballon into the boiling water and making it vanish.

"What are you doing?!"

"It doesn't work anyway, and we don't want anyone to find it" he told us.

Zuko looked to me as I nodded, "I hope you know what you're doing. There's no turning back now"

————

We put our stolen disguises on and I was lucky enough to find some gloves that would cover my scarred hand.

"Huh. You know I think I look pretty good" I smirked showing the guys my guard uniform and helmet.

Zuko looked me up and down as a blush overtook his face, "Yeah, you do-" before he could finish Sokka flicked him in the head, "HEY!"

"No gogo eyes on the mission. I already know that when we find dad he's gonna give you hell" he sighed.

"And we don't care what he says" I sighed.

"I know you don't... but right now We just need to lay low and find my dad as soon as possible" Sokka put his mask on right in time as a couple guards ran up to us.

"Guards! There's a scuffle in the yard. Come on"

We ran outside of the area to see a large crowd of men and women surrounding two men.

"I didn't do anything! I'm going back to my cell" the prisoner yelled.

We watched as the guard whipped fire at him, making him stop from leaving, "Stop right there, Chit Sang"

I glanced at Zuko as he started to get angry. Right as I was about to stop him from moving Sokka stepped in, "We can't blow our cover"

Zuko continued to glare before looking at me as I nodded, agreeing with my brother.

"I've had it with your unruly behavior!" The guard spat.

Chit shouted at the guard, "What did I do?"

He laughed, "He wants to know what he did," he looked to the three of us. "Isn't that cute?"

He stare directly into our souls and I remain silent for a moment before Zuko broke out, "Uh, very cute, sir"

"Super cute" Sokka added.

"It's almost adorable" I finished.

The guard walked up to the prisoner, "You didn't bow down when I walked by, Chit Sang!"

Chit Sang raised a brow, "What? That's not a prison rule"

"Do it!" The guard demanded.

"Make me"

The guard began to walk away, but as he was leaving he whipped fire at Chit Sang. Chit Sang was quickly able to block it, and redirects it at the guard.

The bully guard breaks the blast with a kick sending the prisoner to the ground, "Tsk, tsk. Firebending is prohibited. You're going in the cooler" my eyes widened.

"A... c-c-cooler?" I stepped back right before making eye contact with the bully guard.

"You!" He pointed directly at me, "Help me take him in"

I bit my lip looking to the boys, "Meet back here in an hour" I whispered before helping the guard with the prisoner.

——

We walked down a large hallway that was completely covered in small doors. From my guess, it looked to be like a wall filled with coolers.

I couldn't stop shaking as we stepped inside the cooler to put the prisoner in before I ran quickly out.

"The warden will deal with you soon," the guard scoffed as I slowly closed the metal door locking the prisoner inside the hell hole. "Can you believe this guy?"

"You can't trust anybody these days, not even prisoners" I shook my head.

"Ugh. Tell me about it"

"How long will he be in there? I heard from someone that those can make it feel like it's a death sentence" I asked him.

The guard shrugged, "Until the warden says so. You should know, I mean every single guard Hass to go through training and must spend an hour in there in order to work here"

"Oh yeah... I forgot about that," I chuckled biting my lip. "Why do we do it again?"

He shrugged, "Something about making sure we don't abuse our power" he began to laugh and I joined along hoping to not blow my cover.

We need to get father and get out of here.

Just as we began to laugh the guard stopped and gasped, "It's the warden!" He stood tall and looked forward, "Look alive!"

The old man who I was guessing with the warden went between us and open the cooler door, "So Chit Sang, I hear you used firebending to try to escape. You should know better" he sneered.

"I wasn't trying to escape" the prisoner exclaimed.

I looked into his eyes and could see him shivering from head to toe. I've been in the cooler so many times I've lost count, and I still can't get over the pain I induced in there.

The guard scoffed, "He's lying! I saw it with my own eyes"

The Warden rolled his eyes, "No one has ever, ever escaped from here. I'd sooner jump in the Boiling Lake myself than let that record fall. Don't forget it. Now go back to your shivering"

————

"Sokka?" I whispered looking at a guard who was leaning over the rail.

"(Y/n)? Any information?" He asked as I groaned, joining him on the railing.

"The only thing I found out is that this place is very, very, very inhumane," I sighed. "There's got to be at least one hundred or more coolers"

He sighed as we watched another guard walk over, "Hey there, fellow guards, how goes it?" He asked.

I chuckled as Sokka and I lifted up our helmets, "Zuko?"

"Shhh! Listen, I asked around the lounge. There are no Water Tribe prisoners. I'm afraid your father's not here" he sighed.

Sokka's eyes widened, "What? Are you sure, did you double-check?"

"Yeah, I'm sure" he nodded.

I sighed, "Great. The one time I actually want to see him he doesn't show up" I crossed my arms.

Sokka shook his head, "No. No!" He banged his fist on the wall in frustration.

Zuko walked over and put his hand on Sokka's shoulder, "I'm really sorry, Sokka"

"Hey Sokka, we know he's alive. The Fore Lord wouldn't of killed such a valuable asset in the war"

"We came all this way for nothing," he growled. "I failed... again"

"Sokka stop it. You did nothing wrong-"

"Every time I try to help and do the right thing it end up going wrong! I tried to help the Earth King, you got scarred. I tried to save you, our entire group of allies got captured. I thought I could fix everything-"

I rolled my eyes and slapped him across the face, "Hey!" He yelled at me.

"I'm sick of this" I spat.

"Sick of what? Me not in pain?!"

"You feeling bad about yourself, you're like a..." I could feel the headache but ignored it, "A dark Sokka, and it needs to stop!"

"... A dark Sokka?" He asked unamused.

"I'm sick of seeing you mope around, it happened, it didn't happen, we can't do anything but move on! I get it I got burned, I got scarred but where am I right now? I am with you!? I am with my family and Katara!? I can't go back, I don't want to go back, everything happened and we have to accept it! If I see you moping around one more time I will give you something to cry about, do you understand me?" I snapped.

"I... uh-"

"Do you understand me?!" I yelled.

He put his hand up and saluted me, "Yes ma'am!"

"Good!" I turned to Zuko, "Do you have any ideas?"

He put his hand on his chin, "Ah, what would Uncle say?" He asked himself before looking to the clouds, "Sometimes, clouds have two sides, a dark and light, and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich! So... when life seems hard... take a bite out of the silver sandwich!" He exclaimed.

I gave him a look of confusion, even though I've been able to translate every single bit of expedition his uncle has told me. I have no fucking clue what he just said.

Sokka gasped looking over the railing, "Maybe we haven't failed after all!"

"Huh?!" I asked in disbelief.

Zuko smiled, "That's the spirit! I can't believe that worked. I didn't even know what I was saying"

Sokka waved his hand, "No, what you said made no sense at all. But look..." he pointed down making me gasp, "It's Suki!"

"She's alive!" I jumped.

"Who?" Zuko raised a brow.

"One of my friends, and Sokka's lover~" I wiggled my eyebrow.

"Hey! How could you-" I was saved by the bell as it cut my brother off.

"Prisoners, back in your cells!" A voice yelled.

"So how are we going to do this?" Zuko asked us.

Sokka and I twisted our faces, "We can't I'll just go in there at once" he told us.

"And if we have more than one person guarding her cell it'll look suspicious" I added.

"So... how about Sokka goes in to see his girlfriend while I keep watch" Zuko suggested.

"And I can see if there are any other warriors in the cell!" I snapped my fingers.

"Perfect!" He smiled as we put on our helmets, "Let's do this"

————

I groaned walking through the halls. Not a single warrior. Not one!

Judging by the way this present seems to be operating, it only holds the most powerful, and leaders. Meaning the other warriors must be in a different prison.

As I began to walk back to Suki's cell I saw Zuko scuffling with a guard.

She screamed looking to me and Sokka who just slyly left her cell, "Guards, help! I think he's an impostor! Arrest him!"

I looked to Sokka who nodded and we ran to help her. Even though I really didn't want to do this we couldn't break out cover.

Oh Spirits what are we gonna do now?

————
(Third Person) POV

The Warden strutted into the Prince's cell, "Well, well, well. I never thought I'd find you in here," he smirked. "Prince Zuko"

Zuko's eyes widened, "How did you know who I am?"

The Warden crossed his arms, "How could I not? You and your little wife broke my niece's heart"

"You're Mai's uncle? I never meant to hurt her. And (Y/n)'s not my wife... yet"

"Quiet! You're my special prisoner now. And you'd best behave. If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor prince who let his nation down, why they'd tear you to shreds"

Zuko crossed his arms, "So what's in it for you? Why don't you just tell my father to come collect a reward?"

The Warden shrugged, "Oh, in due time, believe me, I intend to collect. Don't worry about dying though... I hear your father will use you as bait to get that little girl of yours" he smirked before slamming the door shut.

————
(Y/n) POV

The moment I saw Zuko I slammed into him, "Are you okay?! Did they hurt you?! Did they touch you?! Did they torture you?! Did they put you on the cooler?!" I looked all over him.

"Orchid, I'm okay. Nothing happened" he grabbed my face with both hands to calm me down.

I sighed, "Thank the Spirits" I squeezed him tight.

"I always knew you two would end up together" I heard a chuckle behind me as saw Suki with a mop in hand.

"Suki!" I smiled hugging her, "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine. Just ready to get out of here," she chuckled before looking at my face. "Let me see," she then began to inspect my face and slowly remove my glove to see my hand. "Great Yue" she gasped.

I put it back on, "I'm okay," I smiled. "Simple flesh wound" I shrugged it off.

"But Katara did-"

"So! You two have met!" I slam my hands together to defuse the tension, "How's it working out?"

She rolled her eyes as she swabbed the floor, "Actually, we met a long time ago"

Zuko raise the brow as he did the same, "We did?"

"Yeah.... you kind of burned down my village" she said in a passive aggressive tone.

Sokka and I looked to each other unsure what to say, so we stayed quiet.

Zuko stopped mopping for a second, "Oh, sorry about that.... Nice to see you again!" He smiled.

Sokka crossed his arms, "I get that you like him, but why?"

I shrugged, "I'm into the socially awkward men"

"I can tell," he shook his head before he saw the coast was clear. We all ran to hide behind the stairs as Sokka began to explain the escape plan. "So, listen, I think I have an escape plan. I checked out the coolers again, and the point of them is to keep firebenders contained, right?"

I shivered, "Yes"

Sokka smirked, "So, they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out, right?"

Suki sighed, "Just get to the point, Sokka"

"It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water"

Zuko, Suki and I all exchanged glances, "The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?" I bit my lip.

Sokka nodded, "I'm telling you, it'll work. I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing-bang-boom, we're home free" he told us.

Suki scrunched her face, "But how are you going to get the cooler out?"

"Yeah, how are you going to get the cooler out?" I gasped as Chit Sang jumped down to join us.

My eyes widened as Sokka began to lie, "What? We didn't... w-we didn't say that"

"Yeah, you heard wrong" Zuko added.

Chit Sang raised a brow, "I heard you hatching an escape plan, and I want in"

Zuko shook his head, "There's nothing to get in on"

"Yeah, the only thing we're hatching is... an egg?" Sokka told him making me literally facepalm.

"Okay, well, I come with you or the warden hears about this egg, too"

"Is that a threat?" I asked the prisoner ready to attack, but Suki held me back, "I guess we have no choice"

Sokka grumbled, "Okay, you're in. Now first we need someone to unbolt the cooler, from the inside"

"Oh, I can get you inside" Chit Sang told us.

"No" I sighed.

The group all looked to me, "Excuse me?" They all asked.

"I'm not letting either of you go into the hell hole," I sighed. "It's not happening" I shook my head.

The two boys eyes widened, "(Y/n). No"

"(Y/n). Yes" I glared at them.

"You've been in those so many times, and every time you get him one of those you never come out the same" Sokka told me.

"Do you not remember Ba Sing Se? You could barely walk when you got out" Zuko told me.

"I know... but this is something I need to do" I clenched my fist.

"(Y/n)-"

"If I can't handle a cooler, how the hell do you think I can handle Sozin?" I snapped at them, "Unlike The Fire Lord, we don't know when Sozin is going to attack me. In order for me to win this battle, I need to go in with no fears. I need to face this fear" I told them.

Sokka looked to Zuko who looked away. Sokka then handed me a wrench, "How are you going to get in?"

I sighed, "I have a plan... be ready"

————

"I still don't understand why you feel like you need to do this," the guard sighed as we walked over to a cooler. "If you want, we can tell the Warden you did do it already"

"No," I shook my head. "It's not fair to the other guards who have done it before. If I skip out on this important factor, how am I supposed to be a good guard?" I asked him.

He sighed opening it up, "If you insist"

I looked inside the condensed prison. I can already feel my heart rate speeding up rapidly, as it looked into the icy cell.

It took all of my might not to run away, but I stepped inside, "We will be back in one hour" he explained before shutting the door.

I side sitting down. You can do this (Y/n). You can do this!

Immediately I felt a sharp pain my head. I began to feel a bit woozy and I had to keep myself from losing consciousness.

"Okay (Y/n). You can do this, you just need to breath" I told myself as I got to my feet.

I had to grip onto one of the strands of ice to keep myself from falling.

"You need to breath (Y/n)!" I yelled at myself, "You need to breath! You need to.... breath?!" I gasped thinking back to the Earth Kings palace. Specifically the moment with Iroh.

I need to be a dragon. I need to be the Southern Dragon!

I began to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. After a couple times of doing that I can feel myself warming up. I open my eyes as I did it and could see a small breath of fire coming out from my mouth. I am a dragon! I'm the dragon!

I began to check out before I took out all of the bolts inside the cell.

—————

Not before long I heard the metal door open, "Have you completed your training yet?" Sokka asked almost scared

I smirked looking up at him, "I'm the Southern Dragon," I blew a strand of fire at him. "I got this"

He looked almost excited as he helped me to my feet, "I got Suki, Zuko and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago. They'll be waiting for us at the shore"

"Perfect" I smiled as a couple guards walked by. We both stood at attention as they ignored us.

"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn"

"Anybody interesting?"

"Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners, though I did hear there might be a pirate"

"No fooling!"

As they left I looked to my brother, "You don't think..."

"I don't know," he shook his head. "I seriously don't"

"Well what do you wanna do? Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?" I asked.

He bit his lip, "I don't know! Is it right for me to risk Suki's freedom, all of our freedom on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?"

"Hey," I forced him to look at me. "We've got this, okay? We can do this"

—————

We walked over towards the group as Zuko ran to me, "Hey are you okay? Are you hurt.... you're walking fine, what happened?"

I smirked quickly kissing him, "I unlocked my inner dragon" I chuckled as he blushed like mad.

"Took you guys long enough. This here's my girl and my best buddy, they're coming too" Chit Sang told us as he pointed to his friends.

Sokka rolled his eyes, "Fine. Everybody in the cooler. Let's go"

I stopped him, "Are you sure you wanna go? You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescuing father is your chance" I asked.

"You heard that?" He asked me as I nodded.

Zuko and Suki looked to us confused, "Your dad?"

"If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's just better to call it quits before you fail" he told us.

Zuko shook his head, "No, it's not. Look Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out"

"That supposed to make me feel better?" Sokka asked him.

Zuko pulled Sokka aside, "Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over again..."

Sokka shook his head, "Seriously, not helping"

"You have to try every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you might fail" he told him.

"Hey, if you two are done cuddling, can we get a move on?" Chit Sang yelled at them.

Sokka shook his head, "No. I'm staying. You guys go," he looked to Suki. "You've been here long enough"

Suki shook his head, "I'm not leaving without you, Sokka"

"Me too, I'm not letting you get hurt" I told him.

"I'm staying, too" Zuko put his hand on my shoulder.

Chit Sang rolled his eyes, "Not me, I'm out. Let's roll, baby" he pushed the cooler and left with his friends.

Sokka sighed, "We gave up our only chance of escaping. I hope we haven't just made a huge mistake"

I lightly punched his shoulder, "There are no mistakes... just random events"

——————

The next morning the group and I remaining hid as the gondola of prisoners began to arrive. It was a good thing that we did not go through with the escape, because immediately it got caught.

"We have new prisoners arriving! Everything must be completely secure!" The Warden yelled as the guards approached the gondola.

We all watched in into the patient as prisoners started to board off of the machine.

I bet my lip that they couldn't see him coming off of the device. Zuko had his hand clenched in mine as we continued to watch.

"Come on, come on..." Sokka pleaded with the Spirits.

"Is that him?" Zuko asked as a larger man stepped off the gondola.

Sokka and I shook our heads, "My dad doesn't have a nose ring. Where is he? That's it? That can't be it" he gasped as no more prisoners exited.

Suki and Zuko began to comfort us, "I'm sorry, Sokka/(Y/n)"

"Oh, no" Sokka looked down as a guard began to yell.

"Hey, you! Get off the gondola!"

We all gasped looking up as a man with the same competition as my family exited the machine. He lives a little broken, and beaten, but I could recognize that face anywhere.

"Is that...."

"Dad?" I gasped looking at the man I haven't seen in years.

There was no mistaking it, that was my father.

•••